ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to celebrate its
Silver Jubilee tomorrow
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya and Shri Bhagwanth Khuba to grace the occasion
To commemorate 25 years of existence of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority , a programme is being organised tomorrow at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will grace the occasion as Chief Guest. MoS for Chemicals & Fertilizers and New & Renewable Energy will grace the occasion as Guest of Honour. Stakeholders from the Pharmaceutical and Medtech devices industry, Central and State Governments, Price Monitoring and Resource Units , civil society, patient advocacy groups, etc from all over the country will participate in the programme.
To mark the occasion, at the inaugural session, Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System 2.0 , an integrated responsive cloud-based application developed by NPPA with technical support from Centre for Advance Computing  will be launched. IPDMS 2.0 is envisaged to optimize synergies in operations in order to promote Government’s thrust on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as it would provide a single window for submissions of various forms as mandated under Drug Price Control Order ,2013. It would also enable paperless functioning of NPPA and facilitate the stakeholders to connect with National Pharma Pricing Regulator from across the country
Also, Pharma Sahi Daam 2.0 App with updated features will be launched on the occasion. The App has features like speech recognition; search medicines brand/formulation wise; share feature along with consumer complaint handling system. A publication chronicling the 25 years’ journey of NPPA is also proposed to be launched at the inaugural session.
After the inaugural session, a panel discussion on the topic “Robust Data collection for policy making in Pharmaceutical and Medtech sector” will be conducted. The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. V.K. Paul, Member Health NITI Aayog and moderated by Shri Satya S. Sundaram, E&Y. The panelists will be experts drawn from different areas having linkages with the topic under the discussion. The expert panelists in the discussion will be: Dr. Viranchi Shah, National President, IDMA; Shri Rajiv Mishra, Adviser, Department of Economic Affairs; Dr. V. G. Somani, Drug Controller General of India; Ms. Deepti Srivastava, DDG, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Shri Himanshu Baid, Chair, CII Medical Devices Committee; Shri Ashish Bhatnagar, Vice President, National Institute of Smart Government; and Shri Saurabh Thukral, Senior Specialist, NITI Aayog. Chairman NPPA will sum up gist of the discussions.
The panelists will be sharing their views on various facets of the topic under discussion with special emphasis on importance of different sources of data in the larger context of making healthcare accessible and affordable. Options for improved data collection, areas of synergy, coordination and collaboration will be identified for drawing up a future roadmap that would help for creation of robust database.
Department of Atomic Energy
Dinesh Kumar Shukla takes over the reins of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board 
Mumbai, 31st December 2022
Dinesh Kumar Shukla, former Executive Director of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board  & Distinguished Scientist assumed the charge as Chairman, AERB on 31st December 2022. He has been appointed on this post for a period of three years.
Dinesh Kumar Shukla is an internationally acclaimed expert in the field of Nuclear Safety. After graduating from Government Engineering College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh  in Mechanical Engineering in 1980, Mr. Shukla joined the Bhabha Atomic Energy research Centre  in the year 1981. He has been associated with the commissioning of high flux research reactor Dhruva and later held the position of Head, Reactor Operations Division , BARC. In 2015, he joined AERB where he served in various capacities viz. Member of the Board, Executive Director and Chairman, of Safety Review Committee for Operating Plants . In February 2021, Mr. Shukla superannuated from AERB and since then had been actively mentoring nuclear energy professionals on nuclear safety and regulations.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board was constituted on November 15, 1983, by the President of India by exercising the powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions under the Act. The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act and the Environment  Act, 1986. The Mission of the AERB is to ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Issues Draft Notification, proposing to exempt Battery Operated Vehicles  from payment of fee for issue or renewal of Registration Certificate 
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a draft notification dated 27th May 2021, further to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 proposing to exempt Battery Operated Vehicles  from payment of fees for the purpose of issue or renewal of Registration Certificate  and assignment of new registration mark. This has been notified to encourage e- mobility. Comments from general public and all stakeholders have been sought within a period of thirty days from the date of issuance of this draft notification.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
MSP Operations during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21
In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season  2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at its MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala,Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra with purchase of over 315.87LMTs of paddy up to 28.11.2020 against the last year corresponding purchase of 266.19LMT showing an increase of 18.66 % over last year. Out of the total purchase of 315.87 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 202.72 LMT which is 64.18 % of total procurement.
About 29.37 Lac farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs. 59636.82Crore.
Further, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 45.24 LMT of Pulse and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme . Further, sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of Copra  for the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other States/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Upto 28.11.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 100120.96 MT of Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soyabean having MSP value of Rs.538.96 Crores benefitting 57772 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Similarly, 5089 MT of copra  having MSP value of Rs.52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Naduupto 28.11.2020 as against the last year corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In respect of Copra and Urad, rates are ruling above MSP in most of the major producing States. The respective State/UTs Governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date as decided by the respective States based on the arrivals in respect of Kharif Pulses and Oilseeds.
Procurement operations of seed cotton  under MSP are going on smoothly in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Gujarat,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. Till 28.11.2020 a quantity of 2816255 cotton bales valuing Rs.8286.91 Crore has been procured benefitting 565591 farmers.
Special Service and Features
Nutrition Month Awareness Programme at Shoolagiri tomorrow
Field Outreach Bureau, Dharmapuri and Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, Shoolagiri will jointly organise an Integrated Communication Outreach Programme on Nutrition Month, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and Covid Vaccine awareness tomorrow 11 am at BDO Office hall, Shoolagiri. Dr. V. Govindan, Deputy Director, Health Services, Krishnagiri will inaugurate the awareness programme. Dr. V. Govindan will also flag off an LED Mobile Publicity Vehicle at the venue. The vehicle will travel across different blocks of Krishnagiri district displaying video messages on Nutrition Month, Covid19 awareness, Vaccination and India’s 75th year of Independence.
Shri. S. Sivakumar, Block Development Officer, Shoolagiri and Shri M. Subramanian, Block Development Officer, Shoolagiri will grace the occassion.Dignitaries like Smt. P.Poonkuzhali, District Social Welfare Officer, Krishnagiri, Smt. Jay Sugandhi, Child Development Project Officer, ICDS Shoolagiri, Dr. N. M. Vennila, Block Medical Officer, Shoolagiri and Dr. R. Hariram, Medical Officer, Shoolagiri will also participate. Competitions like Healthy Baby contest, Healthy Mother contest, Best Nutrigarden, Rangoli contest will be also held as part of the programme.
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Scholarship for Students from Minorities During COVID-19
The budget allocated under the 3 Scholarship Schemes for minorities being implemented by Ministry of Minority Affairs was Rs. 2,265 crore in 2020-21 compared to Rs. 2,082.74 crore in 2019-20. Further, there has also been no reduction in the quota for fresh scholarships under the three scholarship schemes during the COVID pandemic.
The year-wise details of number of scholarships sanctioned and amount involved during the last five years i.e. 2016-17 to 2020-21 is given in the table below:-
|
|
Year
|
|
Number of Scholarshipsanctioned
|
|
Amount of Scholarshipsanctioned 
|
|
2016-17
|
|
49,33,933
|
|
1474.83
|
|
2017-18
|
|
62,42,892
|
|
1881.15
|
|
2018-19
|
|
66,93,890
|
|
2114.79
|
|
2019-20
|
|
67,24,551
|
|
2388.02
|
|
2020-21|
|
60,62,463
|
|
1984.69Provisional data .Includes the number and amount sanctioned towards the Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Education
Super speciality hospital of IIT Kharagpur to start MBBS programme with 50 students
Kolkata, October 21, 2019
To cater healthcare need of the huge community who are currently away from the reach of super specialty healthcare services, IIT Kharagpur’s super specialty hospital, Dr B C Roy Institute of Medical Science & Research would start the outdoor patient department by the end of 2019. The indoor facilities in the first phase with 400 beds are scheduled to start next year. The MBBS programme with 50 students will also begin in phase-I. In phase-II, number of seats would be increased to 100 and the hospital would be scaled up to 750 beds. Postgraduate degree will also be introduced later on along with health care data sciences and data analytics. The course corriculum will be as per Medical Council of India  guidelines.
IIT Kharagpur will manage the MBBS and postgraduate degrees along with the academic affairs while the day-to-day hospital management will be run by the special purpose vehicle floated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. The hospital’s board of directors will be headed by the IIT Kharagpur director and will include senior IIT faculty.
10% of the beds would be free as the hospital will run on a cross-subsidy model in a not-for-profit mode. 65% of the beds would be charged as per the rates in the central and state health insurance schemes.
The Institute has also decided to set up mobile healthcare units. Basic diagnostics and treatment will be done by these mobile units, which will reduce the patient load in the hospital.
The Institute has formed collaborations with All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, Tata Medical Center, South Eastern Railway Hospital. It has also set up a Common Research & Technology Development Hub supported by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research  to promote healthcare technology innovation and supporting manufacturing by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises .
Ministry of Electronics & IT
India calls on GPAI member states to work together to come up with framework to prevent user harm
MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar addresses the Closing Ceremony of GPAI Summit
India today called upon member states of Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence  to work together for evolving a common framework of rules and guidelines about data governance to prevent user harm and ensure safety of both the internet and AI.
MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar virtually addressing the concluding ceremony of GPAI Summit being held in Tokyo, Japan
Speaking at the closing session of the three-day GPAI Summit, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it is important to understand that user harm, criminality and issues that threaten trust online are proliferating. “We all should be concerned about user harm. I would encourage member states to think about evolving a common framework of rules and guidelines about data governance, about safety and trust as much to do with the internet as to do with AI.”
Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar represented India virtually at the Summit held in Tokyo where it assumed the Chair of the GPAI, an international initiative founded in 2020 to support responsible and human-centric development and use of Artificial Intelligence .
Speaking about India’s vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  the Minister said the India-Stack that has transformed governance and democracy in India and benefitted millions of Indian citizens--are designed to be open sourced.
MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar virtually addressing the concluding ceremony of GPAI Summit being held in Tokyo, Japan
“We believe that GPAI could collaborate with countries and build common AI technologies and platforms that could be used by all member states and indeed benefit the people and citizens of all the participating countries,” he suggested.
He emphasised on developing a common framework on creating skills and talent around AI—an area in which India could take a lead. He also spoke about taking up collaborative research projects including establishing Centres of Excellence  in member nations to be able to work together in building the future of the AI and do so in an urgent manner.
GPAI is a congregation of 25 member countries, including the US, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and Singapore. India had in 2020 joined the group as a founding member.
It works in collaboration with partners and international organisations, leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of AI and guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bangladesh on withdrawal of upto 153 cusecs of water each by India and Bangladesh from common border river Kushiyara
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding  between the Government of the Republic of India and the Republic of Bangladesh on withdrawal of upto 153 cusecs of water each by India and Bangladesh from common border river Kushiyara.
The Memorandum of Understanding  was signed on 6th September, 2022 between the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of the Republic of India and Ministry of Water Resources, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on withdrawal of upto 153 cusecs of water each by India and Bangladesh from common border River Kushiyara during dry season  for their consumptive water requirement.
This MoU will enable Government of Assam to withdraw upto 153 cusecs of water from the common stretch of Kushiyara river during dry season  for their consumptive water requirement.
A Joint Monitoring Team shall be set up by both the countries to monitor the withdrawal of water by each side during dry season.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
First time in India, FSSAI notifies comprehensive regulatory standards for Basmati Rice; Will be enforced from 1st August, 2023
It shall possess natural fragrance characteristic of basmati rice and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances
The standards aim to establish fair practices in trade of Basmati rice and protect consumer interest, both domestically and globally
For the first time in the country, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India  has specified the identity standards for Basmati Rice  vide Food Safety and Standards  First Amendment Regulations, 2023 notified in the Gazette of India.
As per these standards, Basmati rice shall possess natural fragrance characteristic of basmati rice and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances. These standards also specify various identity and quality parameters for basmati rice such as average size of grains and their elongation ratio after cooking; maximum limits of moisture, amylose content, uric acid, defective/damaged grains and incidental presence of other non-basmati rice etc.
The standards are aimed at establishing fair practices in the trade of Basmati rice and protect consumer interest, both domestically and globally. These standards will be enforced w.e.f 1st August, 2023.
Basmati rice is a premium variety of rice cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of the Indian sub-continent and is universally known for its long grain size, fluffy texture and unique inherent aroma and flavour. Agro-climatic conditions of the specific geographical areas where Basmati rice is grown; as well as the method of harvesting, processing and ageing of the rice contributes to the uniqueness of Basmati rice. Due to its unique quality attributes, Basmati is a widely consumed variety of rice both domestically and globally and India accounts for two thirds of its global supply.
Being a premium quality rice and fetching a price higher than the non-basmati varieties, Basmati rice is prone to various types of adulteration for economic gains which may include, among others, undeclared blending of other non-basmati varieties of rice. Therefore, in order to ensure supply of standardised genuine Basmati rice in domestic and export markets, FSSAI has notified regulatory standards for Basmati rice that have been framed through extensive consultations with the concerned government departments / agencies and other stakeholders as well.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Grand Challenge for Development of “Smart Water Supply Measurement and Monitoring System”
National Jal Jeevan Mission , Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti in partnership with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology launched an ICT Grand Challenge, for development of a ‘Smart water supply measurement and monitoring system’ on 15th September, 2020. Jal Jeevan Mission would be the user agency of the Grand Challenge and C-DAC, Bangalore is the implementing agency, providing technical support for the challenge. Enthusiastic participation was observed from all over India. Total 218 applications were received, from various sectors like LLP Companies, Indian Tech start-ups, Individuals etc. A Jury was constituted, with experts from academia, industry, Jal Jeevan Mission, C-DAC, STPI, COEs, MeitY, etc.
Results of ICT Grand Challenge were announced on 20th November 2020, based on the recommendations of the jury. 10 applicants have been selected for ideation to prototype stage and each are being supported with Rs. 7.50 Lakhs.
Currenty the prototypes are being developed which are going to be evaluated during the last week of January, 2021 by the jury. A water test bed is set up in C-DAC Bangalore Electronics City Campus for these evaluations. Best four techno-economically viable prototypes shall be selected for product development and each team will receive Rs. 25 Lakh to build their solution as per the need of the user agency.
This would be followed by field trial, testing & deployment and demonstration at approx. 25 locations across the country as identified by Jal Jeevan Mission. Based on evaluation, one winner and two runner-ups will be selected and supported by 50 Lakh  and 20 Lakh each . The grand challenge is being carried out with funding support from MeitY and National Jal JeevanMission.
Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme of Union Government which aims to provide tap water connection to every rural household by 2024. Announced by Prime Minister on 15th August, 2019, the Mission so far has provided 3.13 crore household tap connections in rural areas.
Figure 1: Results of Top 10 Figure 2: Test Bed setup at C-DAC, Bangalore Electronics City Premises
Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IQH34SD77MbPvbZAl4VAJcp3HnTLBKge/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NVBwTdVpS5wGJCR_OTf8A0wNG0_iL7Jn/view?usp=sharing
APS/AS
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
“Marghe and Her Mother” to be the closing film at50th IFFI
With brilliant films setto take centre stage at the 50th International Film Festival of India , the trend promises to continue till the closing day. The India Premiere of “Marghe and Her Mother” directed by Iranian filmmaker, Mohsen Makhmalbaf will be the Closing Film of the festival.
The film revolves around Marghe, a six year old girl who lives with her single mother Claudia who has been kicked out of her house because of payment difficulties, leaving Marghe to an old woman next door. This is Makhmalbaf’s first film set in Italy and in Italian language, away from his regular backdrop of Iran.
The film has already garnered critical acclaim with layered symbolism and a certain innocence in its narrative flow which reflects the master filmmaker’s maturity over the years. The film has certain neo-realist and nouvelle vague influences and calls for the audience’s attention as he pays subtle tribute to two greatest film movements of the world. The film is a remarkable shift from his previous works which focussed on issues of authoritarianism and revolution and the daily lives of Middle East and instead focuses on the issues of identity, social systems, moralities and other aspects of the modern younger generation. The film premiered and was nominated in the Bosphorus Film Festival in 2019.
Makhmalbaf has previously been nominated and awarded in countless other festivals and is often considered as one of the leading torchbearers of the Iranian New Wave’s second generation.
It is noteworthy to mention that 2019 marks the 50th year of the International Film Festival of India , which is often counted amongst one of the earliest film festivals of the Asian continent. The 50th International Film Festival of India,2019 will witness around 200 best films from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section and more than 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition.